Indoor unit for air-conditioning apparatus

ABSTRACT

The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus includes: a fan; a heat exchanger located on a front side of the indoor unit with respect to the fan and on an upstream side with respect to the fan; an electrical component unit arranged in front of the heat exchanger in a horizontally long posture; a front designed panel located on a foremost side of the indoor unit in an openable and closeable manner; and an electrical component cover removably mounted to members forming a casing of the indoor unit, the electrical component cover including: a lower cover plate for covering a lower side of the electrical component unit; and a front cover plate for covering a front side of the electrical component unit. The front cover plate is exposed when the front designed panel is opened.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an indoor unit for an air-conditioningapparatus, and more particularly, to an indoor unit for anair-conditioning apparatus of such a wall hanging type that anelectrical component unit is arranged in front of a heat exchanger on afront side of the indoor unit.

BACKGROUND ART

Hitherto, in many of indoor units for air-conditioning apparatus of aseparate type including an outdoor unit and the indoor unit,specifically, in many of indoor units of a wall hanging type to beinstalled to an upper portion of a wall surface of a room to beair-conditioned, an electrical component unit that is an assembly ofelectrical components including a control board implemented with variouselectrical and electronic components is arranged on any one of right andleft sides of a heat exchanger that is wide in a right-and-leftdirection of the indoor unit. In other words, the electrical componentunit and the heat exchanger are arranged adjacently to each other in theright-and-left direction.

However, in recent years, there have also been provided such indoorunits that the electrical component unit is arranged in front of a lowerportion of a heat exchanger on a front side of the indoor unit.Specifically, the electrical component unit and the heat exchanger arearranged adjacently to each other in a front-and-rear direction with theelectrical component unit being located in front. When the electricalcomponent unit is arranged in front of the heat exchanger, a width of aninternal space of the indoor unit in a right-and-left direction isincreased so as to increase a heat transfer area of the heat exchanger,to thereby increase a heat exchange amount. With this, a capability ofthe air-conditioning apparatus can be increased. Further, when the heatexchange amount need not be increased, a dimension of the entire indoorunit in the right-and-left direction can be reduced without changing aright-and-left width of the heat exchanger (refer, for example, toPatent Literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

Patent Literature 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2002-71164

SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem

As for the indoor unit in which the electrical component unit isarranged in front of the heat exchanger as disclosed in PatentLiterature 1, when a user opens an openable-and-closable front designedpanel arranged on a foremost side of the indoor unit at the time of, forexample, maintenance work on air filters of the indoor unit, theelectrical component unit is exposed to the front. Thus, during suchwork, for example, troubles that the user carelessly touches theelectrical component unit and hooks and pulls out wires may occur.

Further, when the front designed panel is opened and the electricalcomponent unit is exposed to the front, a metal case for housing thecontrol board and the plurality of wires are visible to the user.External appearance of the indoor unit installed to the upper portion ofthe wall surface serves as a part of an interior design of the room, andhence is excellent in design property. However, under the state in whichthe front designed panel is opened, the design properties are impairedby the exposed electrical component unit.

The present invention has been made to solve the problems as describedabove, and it is an object of the present invention to provide such anindoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus that an electricalcomponent unit arranged in front of a heat exchanger is not exposedunder a state in which a front designed panel is opened.

Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide suchan indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus that, as describedabove, an electrical component unit is not exposed under a state inwhich a front designed panel is opened, and that a service engineer whoperforms inspection work and repair work on this indoor unit is allowedto easily perform the inspection work and the repair work on theelectrical component unit.

Solution to Problem

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is providedan indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, including: a fan togenerate an air flow to be caused to flow from an air inlet formed at atop of the indoor unit to an air outlet formed in a lower portion of theindoor unit; a heat exchanger located on a front side of the indoor unitwith respect to the fan and on an upstream side with respect to the fan;an electrical component unit arranged in front of the heat exchanger ina horizontally long posture; a front designed panel located on aforemost side of the indoor unit in an openable and closeable manner;and an electrical component cover removably mounted to members forming acasing of the indoor unit, the electrical component cover including: alower cover plate for covering a lower side of the electrical componentunit; and a front cover plate for covering a front side of theelectrical component unit, the front cover plate being exposed when thefront designed panel is opened.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the one embodiment of the present invention, it is possibleto provide such an indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus thatthe electrical component unit arranged in front of the heat exchanger isnot exposed even under the state in which the front designed panel isopened, and that, although the electrical component unit is not exposedas described above, a service engineer is allowed to easily perform theinspection work and the repair work on the electrical component unit.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an exterior perspective view illustrating an indoor unitaccording to Embodiment 1 of the present invention when viewed frombelow.

FIG. 2 is an exterior perspective view illustrating the indoor unit ofFIG. 1 when viewed from above.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the indoor unit ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a vertical sectional view illustrating the indoor unit of FIG.1.

FIG. 5 is a separate perspective view illustrating an electricalcomponent unit of the indoor unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating how theelectrical component unit of FIG. 5 is mounted to the indoor unit.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating how panelcomponents of a casing structure are mounted to the indoor unit of FIG.1.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating how an electricalcomponent cover is mounted to the indoor unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 9 is a front perspective view illustrating the electrical componentcover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 is a rear perspective view illustrating the electrical componentcover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 11 is a partial perspective view illustrating of a lower coverplate of the electrical component cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12A is a partial perspective view illustrating a front cover plateof the electrical component cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 12B is a partial perspective view illustrating a front cover plateof the electrical component cover of FIG. 8.

FIG. 13 is a sectional view illustrating the front cover plate of FIG.12A and FIG. 12B.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating how the front cover plate isconnected to the lower cover plate.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a state of connectionbetween a hook of the lower cover plate and an engaging wall of thefront cover plate.

FIG. 16 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a movement between thehook of the lower cover plate and the engaging wall of the front coverplate.

FIG. 17 is a main-part vertical sectional view illustrating a mountstate of the lower cover plate of the electrical component cover.

FIG. 18 is another main-part vertical sectional view illustrating themount state of the lower cover plate of the electrical component cover.

FIG. 19 is a main-part vertical sectional view illustrating a mountstate of the front cover plate of the electrical component cover.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating how a frontdesigned panel is mounted to the indoor unit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the frontdesigned panel of the indoor unit of FIG. 1 is opened.

FIG. 22 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the frontcover plate of the electrical component cover of the indoor unit of FIG.1 is opened.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which theelectrical component cover of the indoor unit of FIG. 1 is removed.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are each an exterior perspective view illustrating anindoor unit 100 for an air-conditioning apparatus according toEmbodiment 1 of the present invention. The state illustrated in FIG. 1is viewed obliquely from below, and the state illustrated in FIG. 2 isviewed obliquely from above. Further, FIG. 3 is an exploded perspectiveview illustrating the indoor unit 100, and FIG. 4 is a verticalsectional view illustrating the indoor unit 100. This indoor unit 100 isconnected to an outdoor unit (not shown) installed outdoors with arefrigerant pipe to form a refrigeration cycle.

As illustrated in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4, the indoor unit 100 is of such awall hanging type as to be mounted to an upper portion of a wall surfaceof a room to be air-conditioned, and includes a fan 1 and an invertedV-shaped heat exchanger 2 that is arranged around the fan 1 on anupstream side with respect to the fan 1. The heat exchanger 2 includes afront upper heat exchanger 2 a and a front lower heat exchanger 2 b thatare located respectively in an upper portion and a lower portion on afront surface side with respect to the fan 1, and a rear heat exchanger2 c located behind the front upper heat exchanger 2 a. The front upperheat exchanger 2 a and the front lower heat exchanger 2 b are arrangedin directions opposite to each other in a manner that a fitting portionbetween those heat exchangers is projected to the front surface side.Those heat exchangers may be formed simply integrally with each other,or may be formed integrally with each other into a curved shapeprojected to the front surface side. The fan 1 is an elongatedcylindrical cross-flow fan, and is horizontally arranged in a mannerthat a longitudinal direction of the fan 1 corresponds to aright-and-left direction of the indoor unit 100.

The heat exchanger 2 is fixed to a rear case 11 as a base, and the fan 1is rotated while being supported by the rear case 11. Both the heatexchanger 2 and the fan 1 are located in front of the rear case 11. Onany one of the left and right of the heat exchanger 2 (left side of theindoor unit 100 in FIG. 3), a heat exchanger support plate 2 d made of aresin is mounted, and the heat exchanger support plate 2 d is fixed to afront surface of the rear case 11 with claws and screws. Further, a partof the heat exchanger support plate 2 d is combined with the rear case11 to serve as a bearing unit configured to support a rotary shaft ofthe fan 1. On another of the left and right of the rear case 11 (rightside of the indoor unit 100 in FIG. 3), a fan motor housing case 12 isinstalled to project forward. A fan motor (not shown) configured torotationally drive the fan 1 is housed in the fan motor housing case 12.In this case, the fan motor housing case 12 is regarded as a part of therear case 11. In other words, the expression of “the front surface ofthe rear case 11” includes a front surface of the fan motor housing case12.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, an air inlet 3 that allows indoor air to besucked therethrough into the indoor unit 100 is formed through an uppersurface of the indoor unit 100. Meanwhile, an air outlet 4 is formed ina lower portion of the indoor unit 100. The indoor air, which is suckedthrough the air inlet 3 and is cooled or warmed by the heat exchanger 2,becomes conditioned air to be blown out into the room through the airoutlet 4. Such an air flow, that is, the air flow from the air inlet 3to the air outlet 4 is generated by rotation of the fan 1. On adownstream side with respect to the heat exchanger 2, a blowout passage5 is formed within a range of from the fan 1 to the air outlet 4, and arear wall 11 a of the blowout passage 5 is formed into a curved surfaceshape concaved with respect to the fan 1. This rear wall 11 a is formedon the front surface of the rear case 11.

A drain pan assembly 6 is arranged below the front lower heat exchanger2 b. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the drain pan assembly 6 is also fixed tothe rear case 11. Note that, a left side of the drain pan assembly 6need not necessarily be fixed directly to the rear case 11, and may befixed with screws to the heat exchanger support plate 2 d to besupported by the rear case 11 through intermediation of the heatexchanger support plate 2 d. An upper surface of the drain pan assembly6 is used as a drain pan 6 a configured to receive droplets of dewcondensation water generated by dew condensation on surfaces of thefront upper heat exchanger 2 a and the front lower heat exchanger 2 bduring a cooling operation. Meanwhile, a lower surface of the drain panassembly 6 is used as a front wall 6 b of the blowout passage 5.

In the air outlet 4, a vertical vane 7 configured to control the airflow of the conditioned air to be blown out through the air outlet 4 inan upper-and-lower direction is arranged. On an upstream side withrespect to the vertical vane 7 in the blowout passage 5, a horizontalvane 8 configured to control the blowout air flow in the right-and-leftdirection is arranged. The vertical vane 7 has a plate shape elongatedin the right-and-left direction, and as illustrated in FIG. 4, dividedinto an upper slat 7 a and a lower slat 7 b in a front-and-reardirection, which are driven respectively by separate drive motors to beindependently turned in the upper-and-lower direction. The upper slat 7a and the lower slat 7 b are rotated while being supported by the drainpan assembly 6, and the drive motors configured to turn the upper slat 7a and the lower slat 7 b are also held by the drain pan assembly 6.Angles of the upper slat 7 a and the lower slat 7 b are varied in theupper-and-lower direction by the drive motors so that the blowout airflow is varied in the upper-and-lower direction. Further, during a stopof operation of the indoor unit 100, as illustrated, for example, inFIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the vertical vane 7 rests in a posture of closing theair outlet 4.

The horizontal vane 8 includes a plurality of slats arrayed in aright-and-left direction of the air outlet 4 and coupling armsconfigured to couple those slats to each other, and is fixed to thefront wall 6 b of the drain pan assembly 6. The coupling arms of thehorizontal vane 8 are moved in the right-and-left direction by a drivemotor through intermediation of a link mechanism. With this, angles ofthe slats are varied in the right-and-left direction so that the blowoutair flow is varied in the right-and-left direction. The drive motor forthe horizontal vane 8 is also held by the drain pan assembly 6.

A filter unit 9 is arranged over the front upper heat exchanger 2 a, therear heat exchanger 2 c, and in front of the front upper heat exchanger2 a. The filter unit 9 includes air filters configured to capture dustin the indoor air sucked through the air inlet 3 on an upstream sidewith respect to the heat exchanger 2, and a filter cleaning deviceconfigured to collect the dust captured by the air filter with brushesinto a dust box located in front of the front upper heat exchanger 2 a.At an upper end of the filter unit 9, a top panel 10 located on anupstream side with respect to the air filter and opened in a matrix formis installed. The plurality of opening portions formed in the matrixform of the top panel 10 correspond to the air inlet 3. The filter unit9 and the top panel 10 are assembled to each other in advance.

In addition, an electrical component unit 30 is arranged in front of thefront lower heat exchanger 2 b. In this case, in order to secure alarger capacity of the electrical component unit 30, the electricalcomponent unit 30 is arranged in a manner of being inclinedsubstantially parallel to the inclined front lower heat exchanger 2 b.The electrical component unit 30 in this state is illustrated in FIG. 5.In FIG. 5, a plurality of routed wires are not shown.

As illustrated in FIG. 5, the electrical component unit 30 ishorizontally long, and a plurality of electrical components areinstalled on a front surface side of a mount base 31 obtained by moldinga resin into such a plate shape elongated in the right-and-leftdirection. When the electrical component unit 30 is assembled into theindoor unit 100, the mount base 31 is located behind the electricalcomponents, namely, comes close to the front lower heat exchanger 2 b.In front of the front lower heat exchanger 2 b, the electrical componentunit 30 is arranged in a horizontally long posture along a longitudinaldirection of the heat exchanger 2.

At a central part of the mount base 31, a control board case 32 having ametal external surface and housing a control board 32 a configured tocontrol the operation of the indoor unit 100 is mounted. The controlboard case 32 is a main electrical component of the electrical componentunit 30, and includes a box-shaped board box 32 b having clawsconfigured to removably fix the control board 32 a having electroniccomponents including a microcomputer mounted therein, and a lid 32 cconfigured to cover an opening of the board box 32 b on the frontsurface side. Further, although not shown, a plurality of cutout groovesor holes that allow the wires to be routed therein are formed inright-and-left lateral surfaces or a lower surface of the board box 32b.

The claws projected from the control board case 32 are engaged withhooks formed on the mount base 31, each having an L-shape incross-section, and further screw fastening is performed. In this way,the control board case 32 is fixed to the mount base 31. The lid 32 c ismounted to be removable from the board box 32 b. Specifically, under astate in which the control board case 32 is mounted to the mount base31, only the lid 32 c can be removed from and mounted to the board box32 b.

In FIG. 5, on the mount base 31, an electrostatic atomizing device 33 isfixed on a left side with respect to the control board case 32. At thispart on the mount base 31, a substantially rectangular communicationhole that communicates the front and the rear to each other is formed,and the electrostatic atomizing device 33 is fixed with claws in amanner of being projected also to a rear surface side of the mount base31 through this communication hole.

The electrostatic atomizing device 33 is a device including a Peltierunit, an atomizing electrode, and a high voltage generating circuit. Dewcondensation water is generated by dew condensation of moisture in theindoor air using a cooling surface of the Peltier unit, and is conveyedto a distal end of the atomizing electrode. In this state, a highvoltage generated by the high voltage generating circuit is applied tothe atomizing electrode. With this, the water at the distal end of theatomizing electrode is electrostatically atomized into a large amount ofelectrically charged fine water particles (mist) of a nanometer size.The charged fine water particles thus generated pass through the heatexchanger 2 (mainly through front lower heat exchanger 2 b) togetherwith the indoor air sucked through the air inlet 3, and are dischargedinto the room together with the conditioned air through the air outlet4. With this, an effect of moisturizing the skin and the hair ofresidents in the room can be obtained. The electrostatic atomizingdevice 33 and the control board 32 a in the control board case 32 areconnected to each other with power wires (wiring) configured to supplyelectric power to the Peltier unit and other power wires (wiring)configured to supply a voltage of several volts to the high voltagegenerating circuit.

Further, on a right side with respect to the control board case 32 onthe mount base 31, a remote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34and a display device 35 are installed obliquely downward to the front,and above thereon, an emergency operation switch 36 is installed fullface on those units. In addition, an infrared sensor unit 37 isinstalled on a right side with respect to the display device 35, and aterminal block 38 configured to relay a power cable 38 a to be insertedinto a receptacle in the room is installed on the infrared sensor unit37.

The remote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 includes areceiving unit configured to receive instruction signals from a remotecontroller (not shown) capable of infrared bidirectional communicationwith the indoor unit 100, and a transmitting unit configured to transmitinformation signals to the remote controller. Both the receiving unitand the transmitting unit are connected to the control board 32 a withsignal lines (wiring).

The display device 35 is a device configured to notify operatingconditions and setting modes to users by using luminous display. Aplurality of light transmissive windows opened in patterns differentfrom each other are arranged in front of a plurality of LEDs in aplurality of arrays, and light beams of the LEDs passing through thelight transmissive windows are displayed in the patterns of the openingsof the windows. The LEDs of the display device 35 and the control board32 a are connected to each other with signal lines (wiring) for lightingcontrol.

The emergency operation switch 36 is a start button to be pressed by aninstallation engineer at the time of starting a first operation afterinstallation of the indoor unit 100 to the wall surface. Further, whenthe remote controller is unusable due to a failure, the user can use theemergency operation switch 36 to start and stop the operation. Theemergency operation switch 36 and the control board 32 a are alsoconnected to each other with signal lines (wiring).

The infrared sensor unit 37 includes an infrared sensor 37 a projecteddownward, and a drive motor located on the infrared sensor 37 a andconfigured to turn the infrared sensor 37 a in the right-and-leftdirection. A driving force of the drive motor causes the infrared sensor37 a to be turned in the right-and-left direction so as to acquire athermograph of the room. With this, temperature distributions on a floorsurface and the wall surface and positions of the residents in the roomare detected. Both the infrared sensor 37 a and the drive motor areconnected to the control board 32 a with signal lines (wiring).

Not only the power cable 38 a connected to an outside receptacle, butalso a communication line and a power line connected to an outdoor unit(not shown) are connected to the terminal block 38. The terminal block38 relays those external wires to the control board 32 a. The terminalblock 38 and the control board 32 a are connected to each other with aplurality of wires for the relay.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory perspective view illustrating how theelectrical component unit 30 is mounted to the indoor unit 100. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the electrical component unit 30 is mounted in amanner of being arranged in front of the heat exchanger 2. At the timepoint when the electrical component unit 30 is mounted, the drain panassembly 6 to which the vertical vane 7 and the horizontal vane 8 aremounted has already been mounted to the rear case 11. On a right side ofthe electrical component unit 30, the mount base 31 and the frontsurface of the rear case 11 are fastened with screws. On a left side ofthe electrical component unit 30, the mount base 31 and a front surfaceof the heat exchanger support plate 2 d are fastened with screws. Withthis, the electrical component unit 30 is fixed. At this time, asillustrated in FIG. 4, in front of the front lower heat exchanger 2 b,the electrical component unit 30 is substantially parallel to the frontlower heat exchanger 2 b.

After the electrical component unit 30 is mounted, the filter unit 9 ismounted. A right side of the filter unit 9 is fixed with screws to thefront surface of the mount base 31 for the electrical component unit 30,and a left side of the filter unit 9 is fixed with screws to an uppersurface of the heat exchanger support plate 2 d. The screw fixing on theright side may be performed with respect to the rear case 11. In thiscase, which of the electrical component unit 30 and the filter unit 9 ismounted first is not particularly limited.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a state in which theindoor unit 100 is being assembled. Specifically, after the electricalcomponent unit 30 and the filter unit 9 are mounted, a plurality ofresin plate-like members forming a casing of the indoor unit 100 aremounted together with the rear case 11 and the top panel 10. Asillustrated in FIG. 7, a right lateral panel 13 that exhibits a designof a right lateral surface of the indoor unit 100, a left lateral panel14 that exhibits a design of a left lateral surface of the same, and acoupling plate 15 that exhibits a design of a lower surface on a rearside (wall surface side) with respect to the air outlet 4 cooperativelywith a lower surface of the rear case 11 are fixed to the rear case 11with claws and screws.

The coupling plate 15 has a rectangular shape elongated in theright-and-left direction, and a front end surface on a longitudinal sideof the coupling plate 15 forms a depth edge of the rectangular airoutlet 4. Prior to the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel14, the coupling plate 15 is temporarily fixed with the claws to acenter of a lower portion of a front surface of the rear case 11. Then,the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14 are fixed withthe claws and the screws to the rear case 11. At this time, protrusionsformed at both right-and-left ends of the coupling plate 15 aresandwiched between the right lateral panel 13 or the left lateral panel14 and the rear case 11. With this, the coupling plate 15 is also fixed.

The right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14 to form thecasing of the indoor unit 100 and close the lateral surfaces (endsurfaces in the right-and-left direction) of the indoor unit 100 areeach a plate-like member formed by molding a resin, and each includeflange portions projecting inward (toward center of the indoor unit 100in the right-and-left direction) at a substantially right angle from endsurfaces on three sides except that on a rear surface side, that is, anupper surface, a lower surface, and a front surface. Of the flangeportions formed on the three sides, a flange projecting from the uppersurface is referred to as an upper flange 41, a flange from the lowersurface is referred to as a lower flange 42, and a flange on the frontsurface is referred to as a front flange 43. The right lateral panel 13and the left lateral panel 14 each need to be fastened with at least onescrew so that the fixing with the claws is not cancelled to causedisengagement even when a certain shock is applied. In this indoor unit100, a rear side of each of the lower flanges 42 is fastened with ascrew to the lower portion of the front surface of the rear case 11.This screw fastening is performed near the positions of sandwiching theleft and right end portions of the coupling plate 15.

In each of the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14, afront part of the lower flange 42 forms an inclined surface 421,specifically, forms an outward surface that is directed somewhat forwardrather than vertically downward (direction to a floor surface withrespect to the wall surface to which the indoor unit 100 is mounted).Angular holes 44 are formed at two positions at a certain intervalthrough each of the front inclined surfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42,which are inclined forward. Further, in each of the front flanges 43,one front angular hole 45 is formed near a center in a height direction,and one threaded hole 46 is formed in a lower portion. The threaded hole46 is bossed to the rear.

FIG. 8 is also an exploded perspective view illustrating the state inwhich the indoor unit 100 is being assembled. Specifically, theelectrical component unit 30 and an electrical component cover 20configured to cover a lower side and a front side of the electricalcomponent unit 30, which are characteristic components of the indoorunit 100, are mounted to the indoor unit 100 to which the right lateralpanel 13, the left lateral panel 14, and the coupling plate 15 havealready been mounted. As illustrated in FIG. 8, the electrical componentcover 20 includes a lower cover plate 21 configured to cover the lowerside of the electrical component unit 30, and a front cover plate 22configured to cover the front side of the electrical component unit 30.The lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 are each a platemember obtained by molding a resin into a substantially rectangularshape elongated (horizontally long) in the right-and-left direction. Thelower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 of the electricalcomponent cover 20 are not an integrated component but are separatecomponents. Specifically, mutual longitudinal side portions to be fittedto each other are connected through intermediation of such a hingestructure that one side can be turned about hinge connecting portionswith respect to another side.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view illustrating the electrical component cover20 when viewed from the front side, and FIG. 10 is a perspective viewillustrating the electrical component cover 20 when viewed from the rearsurface side. Further, FIG. 11 is a partial perspective viewillustrating a left part of the lower cover plate 21 when viewed from aback surface side. FIG. 12A and FIG. 12B are each a partial perspectiveview illustrating the front cover plate 22. In FIG. 12A, a left part ofthe front cover plate 22 is viewed from the front side. In FIG. 12B, theleft part of the front cover plate 22 is viewed from the back surfaceside. Further, FIG. 13 is a vertical sectional view illustrating thefront cover plate 22, specifically, a view illustrating a cross-sectiontaken along the arrows Z-Z in FIG. 12B.

First, description is made of the lower cover plate 21. As illustratedin FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, the lower cover plate 21 includes two transverseside-portion claws 21 a that extend in a plate-thickness direction at acertain interval in a transverse direction on each side in theright-and-left direction, specifically, from both right-and-left ends ofa non-designed surface 212 to face the electrical component unit 30,namely, from both right-and-left ends of a back surface of a designedsurface 211 as an outward surface. Hooking portions at distal ends ofthe transverse side-portion claws 21 a are formed to project outwardoppositely to each other in the right-and-left direction.

Further, one of a pair of the longitudinal side portions of the lowercover plate 21 having the substantially rectangular shape is located onthe rear side under a state in which the electrical component cover 20is mounted to the indoor unit 100. Along the one longitudinal sideportion, a plurality of longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b are formedat intervals in the right-and-left direction in a manner of projectingfrom the non-designed surface 212 further to the rear side. Hookingportions at distal ends of the longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b aredirected downward. In other words, the hooking portions are projected tothe designed surface 211 side. Another of the longitudinal side portionsis located on the front side under the state in which the electricalcomponent cover 20 is mounted to the indoor unit 100. Along the anotherlongitudinal side portion, a plurality of hooks 21 c each having anL-shape in cross-section are formed to project from the non-designedsurface 212 at intervals in the right-and-left direction in such amanner that distal ends of the hooks 21 c are directed to the frontside.

Note that, on a right side of the lower cover plate 21, a sensor hole 21d that allows the infrared sensor 37 a of the infrared sensor unit 37 inthe electrical component unit 30 to be inserted therethrough is formed.In the electrical component unit 30, only the infrared sensor 37 a ofthe infrared sensor unit 37 is inserted through the sensor hole 21 d andexceptionally projected from the designed surface 211 of the lower coverplate 21 under the state in which the electrical component cover 20 ismounted.

Next, description is made of the front cover plate 22. As illustrated inFIG. 9 to FIG. 12 (except FIG. 11), the front cover plate 22 similarlyhas a designed surface 221 as an outward surface, and a non-designedsurface 222 as a back surface of the designed surface 221. In an upperportion of the front cover plate 22, one upper claw 22 a is formed toextend on each side in the right-and-left directions, specifically, fromboth right-and-left ends of the non-designed surface 222 to theelectrical component unit 30 side. Hooking portions at distal ends ofthe upper claws 22 a are formed to project outward oppositely to eachother in the right-and-left direction.

Further, in a lower portion (positions near a lower end) of the frontcover plate 22, a plurality of quadrangular holes 22 b are formed in anarray at intervals in the right-and-left direction. The intervalsbetween the plurality of quadrangular holes 22 b are substantially thesame as those in the right-and-left direction between the plurality ofhooks 21 c of the lower cover plate 21, and the quadrangular holes 22 bare formed as many as the hooks 21 c. Further, as illustrated in thecross-section of FIG. 13 inclusive of the quadrangular hole 22 b, aboveeach of the quadrangular holes 22 b, an engaging wall 22 c is formed toproject from the non-designed surface 222. Still further, screwthrough-holes 22 d are formed at a total of three positions,specifically, lower portions on right-and-left sides of the front coverplate 22, and an upper portion at a center of the front cover plate 22in the right-and-left direction. In addition, a rectangular window 22 eis opened at a right lower portion of the front cover plate 22.

Next, the plurality of hooks 21 c of the lower cover plate 21 areinserted into the quadrangular holes 22 b of the front cover plate 22 sothat the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 are connectedto each other. FIG. 14 is a sectional view illustrating how the frontcover plate 22 is mounted (connected) to the lower cover plate 21. Asillustrated in FIG. 14, in order to connect those plates to each other,the front cover plate 22 and the lower cover plate 21 are verticallyarrayed with the lower cover plate 21 being located beneath, and thedesigned surfaces 211 and 221 are directed to the same sides andsubstantially parallel to each other. In this state, the distal end ofthe hook 21 c is inserted into the quadrangular hole 22 b at acorresponding position from below. Then, the lower cover plate 21 isturned about the hook 21 c in such a direction that the non-designedsurfaces 212 and 222 come close to each other. With this, the distal endpart of the inserted hook 21 c is hooked to the engaging wall 22 cprojected from the non-designed surface 222 of the front cover plate 22.In this way, the connection of the lower cover plate 21 and the frontcover plate 22 is completed, and the electrical component cover 20 isassembled.

FIG. 15 is a vertical sectional view illustrating a state of theconnection between the hook 21 c and the engaging wall 22 c. The stateillustrated in FIG. 15 is a normal state of the electrical componentcover 20 under the state of being mounted to the indoor unit 100. Inother words, the front cover plate 22 is positioned substantiallyparallel to a vertical direction with the designed surface 221 beingdirected to the front side. At this time, the distal end part of thehook 21 c is hooked to an upper surface of the engaging wall 22 c. Inthis state, the lower cover plate 21 does not form a right angle withrespect to the front cover plate 22, and an obtuse angle is formedbetween the non-designed surfaces 212 and 222 on both sides. In thiscase, an angle of 110 degrees is formed between those surfaces. Thelower cover plate 21 is inclined to be parallel to the front inclinedsurfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42 of the right lateral panel 13 andthe left lateral panel 14.

A function of a hinge structure is exerted by the connection between thehook 21 c and the engaging wall 22 c. When the lower cover plate 21 isfixed, the front cover plate 22 is turnable forward about connectingportions between the front cover plate 22 and the hooks 21 c, that is,about the lower portion of the front cover plate 22. FIG. 16 is asectional view illustrating a hinge movement between the hook 21 c andthe engaging wall 22 c. As illustrated in FIG. 16, a lower end part ofthe designed surface 221 of the front cover plate 22 having turnedforward with respect to the fixed lower cover plate 21 comes intocontact with a front end part (another longitudinal side portion alongwhich the hooks 21 c are formed) of the non-designed surface 212 of thelower cover plate 21. With this, the front cover plate 22 is restrictedfrom being turned further. The front cover plate 22 is restricted frombeing turned before the front cover plate 22 and the lower cover plate21 are parallel to each other, and hence the connection is notdisengaged as a result of the turning. The connection is not disengagedunless the hooks 21 c are pulled out of the quadrangular holes 22 b bypulling and separating the lower cover plate 21 from the front coverplate 22 under a state in which the front cover plate 22 and the lowercover plate 21, none of which is fixed, are parallel to each other.

As described above, the electrical component cover 20 obtained byassembling the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 to eachother is mounted to the indoor unit 100 from its front surface side asillustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 17 is a main-part vertical sectional viewillustrating a mount state of the electrical component cover 20,specifically, illustrating a hooking state of the longitudinalside-portion claw 21 b of the lower cover plate 21. As illustrated inFIG. 17, a front lower portion of the drain pan assembly 6 is projecteddownward with respect to the electrical component unit 30, and faces thefront side. At a front end of the downward projecting part, a hookingprotrusion 6 d is formed to project upward. A plurality of hookingprotrusions 6 d may be formed in the right-and-left direction at thesame intervals as those of the plurality of longitudinal side-portionclaws 21 b of the lower cover plate 21, or the single hooking protrusion6 d may be formed continuously over the right-and-left direction.

Note that, on a front surface side of the drain pan assembly 6, a heatinsulator 6 c is installed in contact with the drain pan 6 a. With this,even when the drain pan 6 a is cooled by the droplets of cool drainwater from the heat exchanger 2 onto the drain pan 6 a during thecooling operation, the drain pan 6 a is prevented from causing the dewcondensation of the moisture in the indoor air on the front surface sideof the drain pan assembly 6. The hooking protrusion 6 d is exposed fromthe heat insulator 6 c. The heat insulator 6 c used in this case is madeof polystyrene (PS) foam obtained by foam injection molding ofpolystyrene.

As illustrated in FIG. 17, first, the longitudinal side-portion claw 21b of the lower cover plate 21 is passed below the electrical componentunit 30, and then entirely hooked over the hooking protrusion 6 d fromabove. In this state, own weight of the electrical component cover 20 issupported by the hooking protrusion 6 d. Thus, even when an operatorreleases the electrical component cover 20 from his/her hand, theelectrical component cover 20 is not separated from the indoor unit 100.Next, the lower cover plate 21 is positioned in the right-and-leftdirection such that the transverse side-portion claws 21 a of the lowercover plate 21 come to positions of the angular holes 44 formed throughthe front inclined surfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42 of the rightlateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14. In this state, thetransverse side-portion claws 21 a are inserted into corresponding onesof the angular holes 44.

When the operator presses both right-and-left sides of the lower coverplate 21 from the designed surface 211 side against the front inclinedsurfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42, the two transverse side-portionclaws 21 a on each side are pressed against rims of corresponding onesof the angular holes 44 and elastically deformed inward, to therebyenter the angular holes 44. FIG. 18 is a main-part vertical sectionalview illustrating a claw fixing structure formed of the transverseside-portion claw 21 a and the angular hole 44. As illustrated in FIG.18, the transverse side-portion claw 21 a that has been inserted bybeing elastically deformed inward (toward center in the right-and-leftdirection) is restored from the elastic deformation after the distal endhooking portion projected outward passes through the angular hole 44,and the distal end hooking portion is hooked to the rim on a back sideof the angular hole 44. In this way, the hook fixing structure iscompleted.

With this, both the right-and-left sides of the lower cover plate 21 areoverlapped with the front inclined surfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42of the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14, and theentire lower cover plate 21 is inclined forward at the same angle asthat of the front inclined surfaces 421 of the lower flanges 42. Inaddition, the transverse side-portion claws 21 a and the angular holes44 on both the right-and-left sides function as the claw fixingstructure, and the plurality of longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b onthe rear side and the hooking protrusion 6 d function as a hookingstructure. With this, the lower cover plate 21 is fixed to the indoorunit 100.

After the lower cover plate 21 is mounted and fixed, the front coverplate 22 is fixed to the indoor unit 100. Under the state in which thelower cover plate 21 has already been fixed, the front cover plate 22 isconnected to the lower cover plate 21 through intermediation of thehooks 21 c. Thus, the front cover plate 22 has already been positionedwith respect to the front flanges 43 of the right lateral panel 13 andthe left lateral panel 14. With this, when the operator presses both theright-and-left sides of the front cover plate 22 from the designedsurface 221 side against the front flanges 43, the upper claws 22 a onthe left and right of the front cover plate 22 are each inserted intothe front angular hole 45 in an upper portion of the front flange 43.

FIG. 19 is a main-part vertical sectional view illustrating another clawfixing structure formed of the upper claw 22 a and the front angularhole 45. Similarly to the transverse side-portion claw 21 a of the lowercover plate 21, the upper claw 22 a enters the front angular hole 45while being elastically deformed inward, and is restored from theelastic deformation after the distal end hooking portion projectedoutward passes through the front angular hole 45. Then, the distal endhooking portion is hooked to a rim on a back side of the front angularhole 45. In this way, the another claw fixing structure is completed.

The front cover plate 22 is mounted and fixed with the another clawfixing structure formed of the upper claw 22 a and the front angularhole 45 on each of the right-and-left sides. For the reason describedbelow, the front cover plate 22 is fixed also with screws. Asillustrated in FIG. 8, the front cover plate 22 is fixed with screws 47at the three positions, specifically, the lower portions on both theright-and-left sides and the upper portion at the center. The screws 47passed through the screw through-holes 22 d at the lower two positionson both the right-and-left sides are threadedly engaged with thethreaded holes 46 formed in the lower portions of the front flanges 43of the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14. In thisway, screw fastening of the front cover plate 22 with respect to thefront flanges 43 is performed. Further, the screw 47 passed through thescrew through-hole 22 d in the upper portion at the center is threadedlyengaged with a threaded hole (not shown) formed in a front surface ofthe filter unit 9. In this way, screw fastening of the front cover plate22 with respect to the filter unit 9 is performed. The threaded hole tobe used at the time of this screw fastening in the upper portion at thecenter for the front cover plate 22 and the mount base 31 may be formedthrough the mount base 31 of the electrical component unit 30.

With this, mounting of the electrical component cover 20 is completed. Afront edge of the air outlet 4 having a rectangular shape in plan viewis formed of a depth-side end surface of the lower cover plate 21 of theelectrical component cover 20, the depth edge of the air outlet 4 isformed of the front end surface of the coupling plate 15, andright-and-left lateral edges of the air outlet 4 are formed respectivelyof end portions of the lower flanges 42 of the right lateral panel 13and the left lateral panel 14.

After that, a front designed panel 16 is mounted to a foremost side ofthe indoor unit 100. With this, assembly of the indoor unit 100 iscompleted. FIG. 20 is a perspective view illustrating how the frontdesigned panel 16 is mounted. Rotary shafts 16 a are formed integrallywith upper portions on both the right-and-left sides of a rear surface(non-designed surface) of the front designed panel 16, and the rotaryshafts 16 a are fitted to bearings 431 formed respectively in the upperportions of the front flanges 43 of the right lateral panel 13 and theleft lateral panel 14. In this way, the front designed panel 16 ismounted.

The rotary shafts 16 a are supported in a rotatable manner by thebearings 431, and the front designed panel 16 is turned in the verticaldirection about the rotary shafts 16 a in the upper portions. With this,a front surface of the indoor unit 100 can be opened and closed. Whenthe front designed panel 16 is closed, stationary claws 16 b formed inlower portions on both the right-and-left sides of the rear surface ofthe front designed panel 16 are nipped by catch portions 432 formed inthe lower portions of the front flanges 43. With this, a stable staticstate is maintained. The openable-and-closable front designed panel 16is located on the foremost side of the indoor unit 100.

When the front designed panel 16 is opened by being turned upward at acertain angle, the position of the rotary shafts 16 a is maintained dueto the configuration of the bearings 431 such that the state of thefront designed panel 16 is maintained to be opened at the certain angle.In this state, the user can perform cleaning work on the filter unit 9.In this indoor unit 100, the certain angle at which the opened state ofthe front designed panel 16 is maintained (hereinafter referred to as“opening maintaining angle”) is set to 70 degrees upward with respect toan angle in the closed state. When the front designed panel 16 is openedat an angle more than 70 degrees, the rotary shafts 16 a can be mountedto and removed from the bearings 431. With this, the front designedpanel 16 can be removed and mounted.

The indoor unit 100 in the perspective view of FIG. 1 is assembled asdescribed above and viewed obliquely below from the front on a premiseof being installed to a wall surface in a room. The front designed panel16 is closed, and the air outlet 4 is also closed by the vertical vane 7because the operation is stopped. This state corresponds to the verticalsectional view of FIG. 4. As illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4, the lowercover plate 21 of the electrical component cover 20 configured to coverthe lower side of the electrical component unit 30 is located betweenthe front end of the air outlet 4 closed by the vertical vane 7 and alower end of the closed front designed panel 16. The designed surface211 of the lower cover plate 21 faces the inside of the room, and theinfrared sensor 37 a is projected from the designed surface 211 throughthe sensor hole 21 d without exposing the electrical component unit 30.Irrespective of whether the front designed panel 16 is opened or closed,the designed surface 211 of the lower cover plate 21 is exposed to theinside of the room.

When the lower cover plate 21 is colored with the same color as that ofthe right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14, or that of thefront designed panel 16, a design of the indoor unit 100 is unified, anddifferent colors may be used as accent colors in the design of theindoor unit 100. As described above, the lower cover plate 21 isdirected obliquely downward to the front, and front surfaces of theremote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and the display device35 of the electrical component unit 30 are substantially parallel to thelower cover plate 21. In other words, the front surfaces of the remotecontrol transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and the display device 35face the non-designed surface 212 of the lower cover plate 21 under asubstantially parallel state. With this, during the operation of theindoor unit 100, content to be displayed on the display device 35transmits through the lower cover plate 21 so that the user in the roomcan recognize the displayed content. Further, similarly, through thelower cover plate 21, the bidirectional communication between the remotecontroller that is configured to use infrared signals and the indoorunit 100 can be performed.

Next, description is made of a case where the user opens the frontdesigned panel 16 so as, for example, to maintain the filter unit 9. Themaintenance of the filter unit 9 in this case includes removal andremounting of the dust box of a filter cleaning device at the time ofdisposal of dust collected in the dust box, and removal and remountingof the air filters at the time of rinsing and drying of the air filters.FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating the indoor unit 100 under thestate in which the front designed panel 16 is opened at the openingmaintaining angle, which is viewed obliquely below from the front as inFIG. 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 21, even when the front designed panel 16 isopened, the front side of the electrical component unit 30 is coveredwith the front cover plate 22. Thus, although the electrical componentunit 30 is arranged in front of the heat exchanger 2 (specifically,front lower heat exchanger 2 b), the electrical component unit 30 is notexposed to the front except in that the emergency operation switch 36 isexposed through the window 22 e. The emergency operation switch 36 maybe used by the user in case of a failure of the remote controller, andhence is exposed to the front through the window 22 e without beinghidden with the front cover plate 22 to be recognized and operated bythe user.

The electrical component unit 30 including the various wires connectedthrough the control board case 32 is hidden on a rear surface side ofthe front cover plate 22. Thus, the user is prevented from touching theelectrical component unit 30 during the maintenance of the filter unit9. Specifically, the wires are not carelessly hooked and pulled out ordisconnected, and hence maintenance work can be safely performed.

Further, the front cover plate 22, which is obtained by resin moldingsimilarly to the right lateral panel 13, the left lateral panel 14, andthe lower cover plate 21, is exposed to the front, and hence designproperties are significantly higher than those in a case where the metalsurface of the control board case 32 or the various wires are exposed.Thus, the indoor unit 100, which serves as a part of an interior designof the room, allows the user to perform the maintenance work withoutbeing conscious of the electrical components and the wires even underthe state in which the front designed panel 16 is opened. In this way,excellent design properties that are equal to those under the state inwhich the front designed panel 16 is closed are not impaired.

The front cover plate 22 may be colored with the same color as that ofthe right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14, or that of thelower cover plate 21. With this, even when the front designed panel 16is opened, a design can be reliably unified. Alternatively, differentcolors may be used on purpose as accent colors.

The lower cover plate 21 is a plate component obtained by molding aresin into a substantially rectangular shape elongated in theright-and-left direction. The lower cover plate 21 is fixed not onlywith the fixing structure formed of the transverse side-portion claws 21a on both the right-and-left sides, but also with the plurality oflongitudinal side-portion claws 21 b that are hooked to the hookingprotrusion 6 d on the front surface of the drain pan assembly 6 alongthe longitudinal side portion on the rear side at the appropriateintervals in the right-and-left direction. Further, the longitudinalside portion on the front side is suspended by the plurality of hooks 21c at the appropriate intervals in the right-and-left direction from thefront cover plate 22 that is fixed with the screws to the right lateralpanel 13 and the left lateral panel 14. Thus, there is no such risk inthat the lower cover plate 21 is curved in the right-and-left directionand swells downward along with the elapse of time, and hence designproperties can be maintained over a long period of time. Note that, thenumbers and the intervals of the six longitudinal side-portion claws 21b and the six hooks 21 c used in this indoor unit 100 are matters ofdesign variation, and hence may be appropriately selected in accordancewith size of the lower cover plate 21.

Further, the front cover plate 22 is another a plate component obtainedby molding a resin into a substantially rectangular shape elongated inthe right-and-left direction. The upper portion of the front cover plate22 is fixed not only with the fixing structure formed of the upper claws22 a on both the right-and-left sides, but also with the screw fastenedat the center to the filter unit 9. Meanwhile, the lower portion of thefront cover plate 22 is fastened with the screws to the front flanges 43respectively on the right-and-left sides, and in addition, receives ownweight of the lower cover plate 21 through intermediation of theplurality of hooks 21 c of the lower cover plate 21, which are hooked tothe engaging walls 22 c on the non-designed surface 222 at theappropriate intervals in the right-and-left direction. Thus, there is nosuch risk in that the front cover plate 22 is curved in theright-and-left direction and swells forward along with the elapse oftime.

The front cover plate 22 is turnable downward to the front about thelower portion to function as the hinge connecting structure. The frontcover plate 22 is fixed not only with the claw fixing structures, butalso with the screws 47 at the three positions. Thus, even when the usercarelessly touches or strikes something against the front cover plate 22in the middle of the maintenance of the filter unit 9, there is no suchrisk in that the upper claws 22 a are disengaged from the front angularholes 45 to cause the front cover plate 22 to be turned, that is,opened. In addition, the electrical component unit 30 is notinadvertently exposed.

Further, the longitudinal side portion on a front side of the lowercover plate 21 is fixed through intermediation of the hooks 21 c to thefront cover plate 22 that is fixed with the screws. In addition, fixingis performed also with the longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b on therear side. In this state, the lower cover plate 21 cannot be elasticallydeformed, and hence the transverse side-portion claws 21 a hooked to theangular holes 44 cannot be disengaged. Therefore, as long as the frontcover plate 22 is fixed, the lower cover plate 21 is not separated. Atthe time of the maintenance of the filter unit 9, the user does notremove the screws 47 of the front cover plate 22 that is irrelevant tothe filter unit 9. Thus, there is no such risk in that the electricalcomponent cover 20 is separated, which results from inadvertence of theuser.

Further, the electrical component cover 20 exerts great advantages atthe time of wiring work and maintenance such as inspection work andrepair work on the electrical component unit 30 after the installationof the indoor unit 100 to the wall surface in the room. At the time ofinspection or repair in case of a failure of the indoor unit 100, aservice engineer inspects, repairs, or replaces various electricalcomponents of the electrical component unit 30. At the time ofmaintenance or repair of the electrical component unit 30, the serviceengineer first opens or removes the front designed panel 16 to exposethe front cover plate 22. Then, the service engineer removes the threescrews 47 fixing the front cover plate 22.

Under the state in which the fastening with the screws 47 is cancelled,the upper portion of the front cover plate 22 is fixed only with theupper claws 22 a on the right-and-left sides. Thus, when the serviceengineer holds and pulls the upper portion to a near side, in anopposite manner at the time of the insertion, the distal end hookingportions of the upper claws 22 a are pulled out of the front angularholes 45 while being elastically deformed inward by being pressed alongthe rims of the front angular holes 45. With this, the claw fixingstructure formed of the upper claws 22 a is disengaged.

After the fixing with the upper claws 22 a is cancelled, the front coverplate 22 can be turned about the hooks 21 c as the hinge connectingstructure with respect to the lower cover plate 21 that is fixed withthe transverse side-portion claws 21 a and the longitudinal side-portionclaws 21 b, and hence can be tilted to the near side. In this way, thefront surface side of the electrical component unit 30 can be opened byturning and opening the front cover plate 22 to the near side. FIG. 22is a perspective view illustrating the state in which the front coverplate 22 is turned and opened. In FIG. 22, the front designed panel 16can be removed so that the work can be performed. In FIG. 22 and FIG. 23to be described later, the front designed panel 16 is not illustrated.

The front cover plate 22 is inclined with respect to the lower coverplate 21 until the obtuse angle to be formed between the non-designedsurfaces 212 and 222 on both sides reaches approximately 165 degrees asillustrated in FIG. 16. When the front cover plate 22 is turned andinclined in this way, the front surface of the electrical component unit30 is opened as illustrated in FIG. 22. With this, the service engineeris allowed to check a condition of the electrical component unit 30obliquely from above. In this way, visual inspection can be performed.Note that, in this state, visual inspection on the front surfaces of theremote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and the display device35, which are arranged parallel to the lower cover plate 21, cannot beperformed.

Further, in this state, when the service engineer applies a force forattracting the front cover plate 22 to the near side, a force forseparating the lower cover plate 21 from the front inclined surface 421of the lower flanges 42 is applied to the lower cover plate 21 throughintermediation of the hooks 21 c. With this, the transverse side-portionclaws 21 a on both the right-and-left sides are pulled out respectivelyof the angular holes 44 while being elastically deformed inward. Withthis, the claw fixing structure formed of the transverse side-portionclaws 21 a is disengaged.

The longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b on the rear side are hookedover the hooking protrusion 6 d of the drain pan assembly 6. Thus, undera state in which the fixing with the transverse side-portion claws 21 ahas already been cancelled, the service engineer can disengage thelongitudinal side-portion claws 21 b that are hooked to the hookingprotrusions 6 d only by lifting up the lower cover plate 21 togetherwith the front cover plate 22. In this way, the service engineerdisengages the hooked longitudinal side-portion claws 21 b and attractsthe lower cover plate 21 toward himself/herself. Then, removal of theelectrical component cover 20 is completed.

FIG. 23 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which theelectrical component cover 20 is removed from the indoor unit 100. As inFIG. 22, the front designed panel 16 is removed. As illustrated in FIG.23, when the electrical component cover 20 is removed, the electricalcomponent unit 30 appears on the foremost side, and the front and thelower side of the electrical component unit 30 are opened without beingblocked by any other components. Thus, a working space in which theservice engineer performs inspection, repair, component replacement, andthe like of the electrical component unit 30 can be sufficientlysecured, and such work can be easily performed. In addition, the serviceengineer is allowed to perform work without twisting his/her body whilefacing a target electrical component. In this way, safe and accuratework can be performed.

Inspection work on the control board 32 a, which needs to be inspectedmore frequently than the other ones of the plurality of electricalcomponents installed in the electrical component unit 30, can beperformed only by removing the lid 32 c of the control board case 32 inthe state of FIG. 23. When the lid 32 c is removed, the control board 32a is exposed to the front, and hence, for example, the inspection workusing a multimeter can be easily performed. Further, even in a casewhere a failure is detected in the control board 32 a and there arises anecessity for replacing the control board 32 a with a new one, when thelid 32 c is opened, the various wires connected to the control board 32a can be inserted and pulled out, and the control board 32 a can bemounted and removed. In this way, an old board can be easily replacedwith a new one.

Also on the other electrical components including the remote controltransmitting-and-receiving unit 34 that is directed obliquely downwardto the front, the work such as inspection, repair, and replacement canbe easily, safely, and accurately performed in the sufficient workingspace while the service engineer faces those components. Note that, atthe time of performing the inspection work and the repair work on theelectrical component unit 30 by removing the electrical component cover20, the front designed panel 16 need not necessarily be removed as inthe example illustrated in FIG. 23, and such work may be performed underthe state in which the front designed panel 16 is opened at the openingmaintaining angle. After the necessary work on the electrical componentsis completed, the service engineer only needs to mount the removedelectrical component cover 20 by the procedure described above from thelower cover plate 21. With this, excellent design properties under thestate in which the electrical component unit 30 is covered can berestored.

Note that, in the indoor unit 100, front sides of vicinities of bothright-and-left ends of the electrical component unit 30 are coveredrespectively with the front flanges 43 of the right lateral panel 13 andthe left lateral panel 14. The left lateral panel 14 covers only themount base 31, namely, electrical components are not arranged behind thefront flange 43. Meanwhile, the right lateral panel 13 covers theterminal block 38 that is an electrical component. Although having afunction to relay the wires from the power receptacle and the outdoorunit (none of which is shown), this terminal block 38 is less liable tofail, and hence is arranged behind the front flange 43 in this case.

Note that, as a matter of course, inspection work and repair work can beperformed also on the terminal block 38. As described above, the rightlateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14 are also components thatare mounted immediately before the electrical component cover 20 ismounted, and hence can be removed from and remounted to the rear case 11as long as the electrical component cover 20 is removed even after theindoor unit 100 is installed to the wall surface in the room. In casecertain work needs to be performed on the terminal block 38, which isnot often performed, such work can be performed by removing the rightlateral panel 13. Further, when both the right lateral panel 13 and theleft lateral panel 14 are removed, the entire electrical component unit30 can be removed and remounted even under the state in which the indoorunit 100 is installed to the wall surface in the room.

Note that, the entire front side of the electrical component unit 30 maybe covered with the front cover plate 22. In this case, it is preferredthat the claw fixing and the screw fastening of the front cover plate 22be performed with respect to the mount base 31 of the electricalcomponent unit 30.

In the electrical component cover 20 of the indoor unit 100, the hooks21 c are used as the hinge connecting structure (turnable connectingstructure) of the front cover plate 22 with respect to the fixed lowercover plate 21. However, a hinge connection structure of any other typemay be employed as long as the front cover plate 22 mounted parallel tothe vertical direction in the normal state can be turned forward about avicinity of a lower edge of the front cover plate 22, and the front sideof the electrical component unit 30 can be opened.

Specifically, a front edge of the lower cover plate 21 and the loweredge of the front cover plate 22 may be connected to each other withthin pieces so that the front cover plate 22 can be turned forward byelastic deformation of the thin pieces. In a case where such thin hingesare used, when the front cover plate 22 that has been turned and openedis released from his/her hand, the front cover plate 22 is closed bybeing turned in a closing direction due to an elastic force of the thinpieces. Further, in order to remove the lower cover plate 21 under thestate in which the front cover plate 22 is opened, when the front coverplate 22 is attracted to the near side, the thin pieces may be stretchedor cut off. As a countermeasure, the front edge or lateral edges of thelower cover plate 21 need to be directly held to apply a force forseparating the lower cover plate 21 from the front inclined surfaces 421of the lower flanges 42. However, when the thin hinges are used, thereis an advantage in that a turning angle of the front cover plate 22 canbe increased.

Meanwhile, the hooks 21 c have such a structure as to be disengaged whenthe front cover plate 22 is turned to be parallel to the lower coverplate 21. Thus, the front cover plate 22 can be turned onlyapproximately at 50 degrees in the normal mount state in the indoor unit100. However, when the thin hinges are used, the front cover plate 22can be turned at 90 degrees or more. With this, the front side of theelectrical component unit 30 can be largely opened, and hence theinspection work by the service engineer can be further easily performed.

Further, there may also be employed such a hinge connecting structurethat one of the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22includes a shaft that extends in the right-and-left direction, andanother of those plates includes bearings to be fitted to the shaft soas to function as a hinge configured to turn the front cover plate 22.In this case, in order to turn the front cover plate 22 at 90 degrees ormore, the shaft and the bearings need to be arranged between thelongitudinal side portions of the lower cover plate 21 and the frontcover plate 22 to be connected to each other. Thus, between the loweredge of the front cover plate 22 and the front edge of the lower coverplate 21, gaps are formed at parts where the shaft or the bearings arenot arranged. As a result, under the normal mount state of theelectrical component cover 20, the electrical component unit 30 may bevisible through the gaps. When the shaft and the bearings are arrangedon any one of the non-designed surfaces, such gaps are not formed.However, the lower portion of the front cover plate 22 is held incontact with a vicinity of the front end of the lower cover plate 21. Asa result, the turning at 90 degrees or more is restricted as in the caseof the hooks 21 c.

In many of indoor units for general air-conditioning apparatus,components equivalent to the matrix-like top panel 10, the right lateralpanel 13, the left lateral panel 14, the coupling plate 15, and thelower cover plate 21 of the indoor unit 100 are formed integrally witheach other by molding a resin into a frame member. The frame membercovers the heat exchanger 2 from the front side, and an assembly of theframe member and the heat exchanger 2 is fixed to the rear case 11 toform a casing. In such a structure, when the front designed panel 16 isopened, the electrical component unit 30 arranged in front of the frontlower heat exchanger 2 b is exposed to the front. Further, at the timeof inspection work and repair work on the electrical component unit 30,the lower side of the electrical component unit 30 is covered with apart of the frame member (part corresponding to the lower cover plate 21of the indoor unit 100), and hence such work is difficult to perform. Inorder to secure the sufficient working space, the entire frame memberneeds to be removed.

In contrast, in the indoor unit 100 according to this embodiment, theelectrical component unit 30 is arranged in front of the lower portionof the heat exchanger 2 located on a front side with respect to the fan1, and the electrical component cover 20 includes the lower cover plate21 and the front cover plate 22 that are respectively configured tocover the lower side and the front side of the electrical component unit30. Further, the lower cover plate 21 configured to cover the lower sideof the electrical component unit 30 is a separate component independentof the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14 to form thecasing of the indoor unit 100, and is removably mounted to the rightlateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14. In addition, the frontcover plate 22 configured to cover the front side of the electricalcomponent unit 30 is also removably mounted to the right lateral panel13 and the left lateral panel 14.

Thus, even under a state in which the user opens the front designedpanel 16 to lightly wipe an inside of the indoor unit 100 or to maintainthe filter unit 9, the electrical component unit 30 is not exposed bybeing hidden with the electrical component cover 20 including the lowercover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22, and hence is invisible toor touched by his/her hand of the user at work.

Specifically, even when the user opens the front designed panel 16, themetal surface of the control board case 32, the various electricalcomponents, and the large number of wires connecting those componentsand the control board 32 a are invisible. Thus, excellent designproperties that are equal to those under the state in which the frontdesigned panel 16 is closed are maintained. Further, during the cleaningor the maintenance of the filter unit 9, the user is prevented fromtouching the electrical component unit 30. Thus, such troubles that thewires are carelessly hooked and pulled out or disconnected do not occur,and hence the user can safely perform such work at ease.

Further, even under the state in which the indoor unit 100 is installedto the wall surface in the room, both the front cover plate 22 and thelower cover plate 21 of the electrical component cover 20 can be mountedto and removed from the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateralpanel 14 to form the casing of the indoor unit 100. Thus, in a casewhere the inspection work and the repair work on the electricalcomponent unit 30 are needed, when the service engineer removes theelectrical component cover 20 to perform such work, the electricalcomponent unit 30 appears on the foremost side. In addition, noobstacles are present on the front side or the lower side with respectto the electrical component unit 30. Thus, the sufficient work space canbe secured, and the work can be easily, safely, and accuratelyperformed.

In addition, the front cover plate 22 of the electrical component cover20 is connected to the lower cover plate 21 through intermediation ofthe hinge structure. With this, the service engineer is allowed to openthe front side of the electrical component unit 30 by turning the frontcover plate 22 downward to the front with respect to the fixed lowercover plate 21, and hence can perform visual inspection on theelectrical component unit 30 even without removing the electricalcomponent cover 20. Depending on a type of the hinge structure,specifically, when the thin hinge structure is employed, the front coverplate 22 can be turned at 90 degrees or more. When the front cover plate22 is turned at such a high angle, some other electrical components,such as the electrostatic atomizing device 33, can be inspected,repaired, and replaced.

Further, under the state in which the electrical component cover 20 isnormally mounted, the front cover plate 22, which is connected to thelower cover plate 21 through intermediation of the hinge structure, doesnot allow the lower cover plate 21 to be elastically deformed in theright-and-left direction, that is, in its longitudinal direction. Unlessthe fastening with the screws 47 and the fixing with the claws withrespect to the front cover plate 22 have been cancelled, and the frontcover plate 22 has been turned with respect to the lower cover plate 21,even when the lower cover plate 21 is fixed only with the claws, thelower cover plate 21 cannot be removed from the right lateral panel 13or the left lateral panel 14. In addition, the front cover plate 22 isfastened with the screws 47 to the right lateral panel 13 and the leftlateral panel 14. Thus, even when the user carelessly touches or strikessomething against the front cover plate 22, the fixing of the frontcover plate 22 is not cancelled, and hence the electrical componentcover 20 is not inadvertently separated. In this way, the lower coverplate 21 is not inadvertently separated even when being fixed only withclaws without screws.

Note that, in this indoor unit 100, the top panel 10, the right lateralpanel 13, the left lateral panel 14, and the coupling plate 15 that formthe casing of the indoor unit 100 need not necessarily be separated fromeach other, and may be molded integrally with each other. Also when theelectrical component cover 20 including the lower cover plate 21 and thefront cover plate 22 is removably mounted to an integrally moldedproduct formed of those components, the same functions and advantagescan be obtained. In other words, irrespective of the structure of thecasing of the indoor unit 100, those same functions and advantages canbe obtained as long as the electrical component cover 20 is removablymounted to the members (resin members) to form the casing.

Irrespective of whether or not the front designed panel 16 is opened orclosed, the designed surface 211 of the lower cover plate 21 of theelectrical component cover 20 is constantly directed to the inside ofthe room. In view of this, the lower cover plate 21 may be regarded asone of exterior design components. Further, at the same time, the lowercover plate 21 connects the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateralpanel 14 to each other, and hence may be regarded also as a part of thecasing of the indoor unit 100. Similarly, the front cover plate 22 alsoconnects the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateral panel 14 toeach other, and hence may be regarded as a part of the casing of theindoor unit 100.

As described above, the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate22 of the electrical component cover 20 that can be mounted to andremoved from the indoor unit 100 are connected to each other throughintermediation of the hinge structure to be turnable. However, the lowercover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 of the electrical componentcover 20 need not necessarily be connected to each other, and may bearranged independently of each other. In this case, in order that theelectrical component cover 20 is not inadvertently separated, not onlythe front cover plate 22 but also the lower cover plate 21 needs to befastened with screws to the right lateral panel 13 and the left lateralpanel 14, or other components. As a result, the number of assembly stepsis increased. Also with such a structure, the same functions andadvantages can be obtained. In addition, the service engineer is allowedto open only the lower side of the electrical component unit 30, andhence there is also an advantage in that inspection work on the remotecontrol transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and the display device 35that face the non-designed surface 212 of the lower cover plate 21 isfacilitated.

Alternatively, the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 maybe formed of a single integrally molded component, specifically, a resinmolded component having a substantially L-shape in cross-section. Inthis case, the front side of the electrical component unit 30 cannot besolely opened, and hence the service engineer needs to remove theelectrical component cover 20 even at the time of brief visualinspection. However, the advantages for the user in that excellentdesign properties are maintained by the electrical component cover 20even under the state in which the front designed panel 16 is opened, andthat there is no risk of touching the electrical component unit 30 canbe secured. Further, the advantages for the service engineer in that, byremoving the electrical component cover 20, the working space in whichinspection and repair are performed can be sufficiently secured, andthat the work can be easily, safely, and accurately performed can alsobe secured.

The lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 of the electricalcomponent cover 20, which are formed separately from each other byinjection molding of a resin, may be connected to each other throughintermediation of the hinge structure to be turnable, or may be formedindependently of each other instead of being connected to each other. Inthis case, the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 of suchan electrical component cover 20 may be different from each other inplate thickness, and may different from each other in resin material.

Thus, the electrical component cover 20 can be configured such that thelower cover plate 21, which may be deformed to swell downward by its ownweight along with the elapse of time, has a plate thickness larger thana plate thickness of the front cover plate 22 that is mounted normallyparallel to the vertical direction. In this case, it is preferred thatthe plate thickness of the lower cover plate 21 be set smaller at partsfacing the remote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and thedisplay device 35 than other parts such that the infrared signals to betransmitted to and received by the remote controltransmitting-and-receiving unit 34 and the content to be displayed onthe display device 35 easily transmit through the lower cover plate 21.

Further, the electrical component cover 20 may be configured such thatthe lower cover plate 21, which may be deformed to swell downward by itsown weight along with the elapse of time, is formed by molding amaterial that is higher in rigidity than a resin material of the frontcover plate 22 that is mounted normally parallel to the verticaldirection. In addition, in this case, the plate thickness of the lowercover plate 21 may be set smaller than the plate thickness of the frontcover plate 22 such that the infrared signals to be transmitted to andreceived by the remote control transmitting-and-receiving unit 34 andthe content to be displayed on the display device 35 easily transmitthrough the lower cover plate 21.

Still further, the lower cover plate 21 and the front cover plate 22 ofthe electrical component cover 20 may be different from each other incolor.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

-   -   1 fan 2 heat exchanger 3 air inlet 4 air outlet 11 rear case 13        right lateral panel 14 left lateral panel 16 front designed        panel 20 electrical component cover 21 lower cover plate 21 c        hook 22 front cover plate    -   22 c engaging wall 22 d screw through-hole 30 electrical        component unit 46 threaded hole 47 screw 100 indoor unit

1. An indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus, comprising: a fanto generate an air flow flowing from an air inlet formed at a top of theindoor unit to an air outlet formed in a lower portion of the indoorunit; a heat exchanger located on a front side of the indoor unit withrespect to the fan and on an upstream side with respect to the fan; anelectrical component unit arranged in front of the heat exchanger in ahorizontally long posture; a front designed panel located on a foremostside of the indoor unit in an openable and closeable manner; and anelectrical component cover removably mounted to members forming a casingof the indoor unit, the electrical component cover including a lowercover plate for covering a lower side of the electrical component unit,and a front cover plate for covering a front side of the electricalcomponent unit, the front cover plate being exposed when the frontdesigned panel is opened.
 2. The indoor unit for an air-conditioningapparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower cover plate is exposed in afront lower portion of the indoor unit even under a state in which thefront designed panel is closed.
 3. The indoor unit for anair-conditioning apparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower cover plate andthe front cover plate of the electrical component cover are connected toeach other through intermediation of a hinge structure, and wherein thefront cover plate is turnable downward to a front with respect to thelower cover plate under a state in which the front designed panel isopened.
 4. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1,wherein the front cover plate is fastened with screws to the membersforming the casing of the indoor unit so that the front cover plate isprevented from being turned with respect to the lower cover plate unlessthe screws fastening the front cover plate are unscrewed, and that thelower cover plate is prevented from being removed from the membersforming the casing of the indoor unit unless the front cover plate isturned.
 5. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim 1,wherein the members forming the casing of the indoor unit includes aright lateral panel and a left lateral panel for closing lateralsurfaces of the indoor unit.
 6. The indoor unit for an air-conditioningapparatus of claim 1, wherein the lower cover plate and the front coverplate of the electrical component cover are different from each other inmaterial.
 7. The indoor unit for an air-conditioning apparatus of claim1, wherein the lower cover plate and the front cover plate of theelectrical component cover are different from each other in platethickness.